Awakening Our Inner Child

Inside each and every one of us there resides some sort of heartache. The type of heartache that can flood ourselves with the fear of uncertainty and confuse us from what these emotions are really trying to express. Each day we rise up we continue to hear this cry that occupies our center. We cry deep from inside our hearts, from a place that has been neglected by humans who have been caught up in the busy lifestyle of western culture. Negating these emotions each and every day can be detrimental to ourselves and others around us. Until we step back from our hectic lives and realize that these heartaches are trying to speak to us, we will continue to reach out in the dark.

This reaching out is your inner child weeping with sorrow. This is your inner child grasping for air. This is your inner child extending out for the help it needs to transform negative emotions into positive action.

As humans, we tend to get caught up in the never-ending spiral of life that we have confirmed to but not necessarily agreed upon in our existence. We are always running around finding ways to create more attention for ourselves, more opportunity to relax and more of a sensation to just slow down our state of being, while being quite satisfied with trading our quality of life for these actions. Quality of life becomes a back burner to the ways that we make decisions in our life. These decisions are based on the fact that we always feel a sense of urgency and have no time to reflect as well as enjoy life’s blessings. Being confined to our current state of reality is widely becoming more and more accepted as the way we move through life. Why is it that we spend endless amounts of time and energy to create shortcuts in life that were sincerely meant to experience?

The simple things in life have slowly began to find a way to be “purchased” rather than just experienced. There are so many examples currently where people are becoming more and more satisfied with spending copious amounts of money to save time and energy. Everything in life seems to becoming more and more disposable for the trade-off of saving a little bit of time. I feel as though currently we are at a huge fork in the road with humanity. The breaking point in which we can choose the path of feeding oneself soul, while establishing what is rightfully ours as a human experience or continuing to fall victim to continuously feeding the path of societal norms. The latter seems more acceptable today.

This ideology that quality of life should always comes second in line with life’s race is what is the driving force to not listen to our inner child. In each of us, there is a young, suffering child. We have all had times of difficulty as children and many of us have experienced some sort of trauma. To protect and defend ourselves against future suffering, we often try to forget those painful times. Every time we’re in touch with the experience of suffering, we believe we can’t bear it, and we stuff our feelings and memories deep down in our unconscious mind. It may be that we haven’t dared to face this child for many decades because of past emotional blockages. We then move on into adulthood where being a child is taboo. This idea is the furthest thing from what needs to be done.

There is a difference between growing up and being responsible. Humans never should “grow up” but rather always stay connected with your inner child. Of course we need to become much more responsible in the choices we make as we evolve but this is very different from straying away from and neglecting our child inside. The child inside of us all brings great joy in life and reconnects us with times in which life was so beautiful and innocent. The moment we stray away from these feelings and emotions that bring us happiness, is the moment we fall backwards in life.

Just because we have not faced our inner child does not mean he or she is not there. The wounded child is always inside of us, always reaching out for attention. The child is always saying, “I’m here. Stop avoiding me. Stop running away from these feelings.” We want to end our suffering by sending that child to a deep place inside of us while staying as far away as possible from these thoughts and emotions, but running away doesn’t end our suffering; it only prolongs it.

This wounded child asks for love and care but we tend to do the opposite. We choose to run away from the suffering because we are scared to face reality and what others may think of these feelings. It is human nature to feel this way but it is society who forces us to believe that these feelings are inhuman.

We walk around trying to fill this void with sourcing attention from the outside like entertainment, socializing, drug usage and relationships. We ignore the weeping child inside of us all plagued by Ignorance. The same ignorance that takes over and controls our ego to the point in which we stop seeing the true reality of things. We become consumed by daily stressors and try to fill this unoccupied place with outside attention. We then start to slowly fall apart from the inside because our inner child yearns for attention.

Becoming consumed by life affects not only yourself, but ALL of the relationships built around us. Romantic, family, professional, interpersonal and social relationships are all affected trickling down from not listening to what is needed inside. All of these relationships then take stress from the root cause of it all, not speaking to your inner child. This is a domino effect and causes the breaking down of all of your other relationships slowly around you. Can we blame ourselves from not having a clear head and grasp on what needs to be addressed in a society that is built on miscommunication? Can we blame others for the destruction of a relationship when they are making the same mistakes that we each make inside of ourselves? Acknowledgement and understanding of the situations at hand can be key in mending broken relationship in times heartache and self-destruction. Taking time to step back without constant brain chatter, without any distractions and without an outside relationship which can or cannot be biased, will bring mindfulness, understanding and gratification to self. Taking time to listen with compassion to yourself can give you the realization of what needs to be healed from this point forward and start to love again.

Listening with compassion should not always be subjective to others. It should apply to ourselves as well. Most often than not people who are faithful, loyal and giving sometime in their life will be used or betrayed. We tend fall short when looking at the big picture and what is the cause of it all. By listening with love and compassion to ourselves in every situation we can become mindful in every experience. We can understand that if we would have just taken time to step back and listen, we could have avoided many situations that cause heartache. As we choose to become more present in every situation as well as create awareness, we will slowly change into the perfect version of what you have always imagined you could be.

Among all occurrences in life, one thing can be said on why most situations crumble apart, communication. Communication is the key in all relationships whether it be with self or anything outside self. Listening to self will create mindfulness. If you are mindful, you will hear the voices calling for attention. You will hear your inner child wanting to make the right decision based in the name of unconditional love. In that present moment, instead of paying attention to whatever is in front of you, go back and tenderly embrace the wounded child and ask what needs to be addressed in present. There you will be able to make more conscious decisions in any situation, creating an understanding instead of misunderstanding, while avoiding future heartache with others that comes from not being straightforward and honest.

Honesty then becomes the best rule to live by in this world. When we do not stay truthful and honest not only do we hinder growth inside of ourselves but we affect everyone around us. It is a vibration that resonates to everyone we come close to. Continuing to make choices of not honoring our inner child creates tougher choices to deal with down the road. These choices build on each other until there is quite a mess. Many of us choose to clean up our own mess with more acts of unhonest behavior until there becomes a point of no return. At this point, we hit rock bottom. Self destruction. Usually there is a group of others around us that will be affected by our destructive ways. This can either be attended to, tried to be mended or just walked away from. The choice is up to yourself in which what needs to be taken care of and this should be in honor of what feeds your soul. We all know deep down what needs to be taken care of and mended in all relationships.

When we become aware that we’ve forgotten the wounded child in ourselves, we feel great compassion for that child and we begin to generate the energy of mindfulness. Taking time to slow and listen to this voice will start the path of loving yourself once again. Talk to your child several times a day and listen with compassion. Fix past emotional blockages by reconnecting with you inner child and mending those past broken relationships that have been affected by not listening. Wake up everyday and show gratitude for all of the things that has hindered growth of self and everything around you while understanding that you can once again make things right if you are willing to work hard. Listen to self and feed your inner child by doing the things that makes you whole again. Take over your life and share these experiences with people you hold dear to your heart. When we slow life down, show awareness and compassion, this life will then become what it was truly meant to be, wonderful!